"fire in the belly" syndrome
You know folks, although I still think that hunger has a lot to do with a fighter's success, I don't think that that the "eye of the tiger" is as evident, or indicative, as I formerly did.
Specifically, I'll tell you: my first real bust on this thread was my prediction that Fernando Vargas would take out Tito Trinidad in the championship rounds of their fight last December. I (as well as a few boxing commentators, including Max Kellerman of the Friday Night Fights) saw, on top of talent and the like, what appeared to be a steely-eyed, hungry killer's instincts in Vargas' eyes and in the way he'd dispatched some of his previous competitors...but Tito was just plain better, and landed what looked like a surprised (and I daresay frightened) Vargas on his ass 2 or 3 times in the first round alone.
On the other hand, Buster Douglas quit - a la Andrew Golota - two fights in the three years before he fought Mike Tyson. Of course, it was known that he wouldn't be able to quit against Tyson since it was certain that he'd be KO'ed within the first 3 rounds of the Tokyo, Japan fight, Iron Mike's 7th defense of the Unified Heavyweight title.
Certain, that is, until Douglas got up off the canvas following a 9th round knockdown to KO Mike Tyson on that fateful night: Feb 11th, 1990.
So, what I'm saying is...I'm using the "obvious" hunger/fire-in-the-belly/eye-of-the-tiger indicator a lot less these days when trying to pick fight winners.
LPS5 |
